(Contrainte : distinguishing)
Atwater metro station.
Somewhere around midnight.
THE screen said 3 minutes. That made Eva anxious. Because she was always being noticed by each and every person that she came across. People would stop their conversation and just stare at her. They would start whispering nasty little profanities to each other, using their hand as a shield. As if she couldn’t hear. As if she was some kind of animal trapped in a glass cage, unable to interact with the real world.
Eva would blush and bow her head, trying to disappear. Of course, it never worked. She hated that. Being all smiles and politeness did not help her. It seemed to make things worse. They did not like her. Them. The man on the street. But she couldn’t help trying to make them feel better. Her presence only seemed to make things worse. It was as if a kind of curse was upon her, some kind of negative energy that Eva seemed to distil around her. They all ended up despising her with all their guts.
Her beauty seemed to have that effect. She was the woman that all women dreamed to be and that all men dreamed to have. For that, they resented her. They all wanted her to… Thankfully, the metro chose that moment to make its entrance through the dark tunnel, cutting short her train of thoughts and making the warm air move around them. A hundred different smells hit her at once, making her blink. That was her favourite moment, because in that moment, she could forget their stares through their body odours, perfumes, coffee, piss stains, cigarette ashes and bad breaths. Coming to a stop with a screeching sound, the car doors opened and Eva quickly made her way to the furthest seat. It was in a darker corner because half of the neon lights in the car were burnt out.
From her bag, she grabbed a book, hoping that Margaret Atwood’s universe was a better one than the one she was stuck in. Sighing, she started counting.
1… 2… 3… 4… 5…
She was up to 65 when a shadow loomed over her.
— Hey pretty girl. You think you’re so precious, don’t ya?
Ignoring them made things just as bad as replying to them. It was always a gamble. So she looked up from her book. A random dude dressed in mismatched army trousers and vest was smiling at her. It was not your usual flirtatious smile. It was a wolf’s grin. She couldn’t help the slight shiver than crept up her spine as her mind scrambled for an appropriate response.
— I’m not sure what you mean by that.
— He said “Ya think you’re so precious”, ya cunt. Ya deaf? A redhead woman replied from her seat.
She blushed. It was a trick that usually worked, but not this time. She shifted nervously on her seat and glanced down at the book in her hands, as if it could save her. The redhead’s look bore a hole through her skull. Eva swallowed; her throat getting drier by the minute.
— Don’t make me get up! Growled the woman through her teeth.
— Pretty girls should smile, said the random dude. Pretty girl should always smile.
— Look, I don’t want any trouble.
Trying to remain calm, Eva put the book back into her bag. So much for comfort.
— Hey! Look at us when we talk!
That was another woman, blonde, well-dressed. She would have been pretty if anger was not deforming her features.
— I don’t want any trouble.
— Sweetie, you are the trouble…, said the blonde woman.
As she said those words, something flashed in her hands. A knife, about 6 inches long.
— …but we’ll sort you out.
— You don’t need to do this. Look, I’ll stop here. You won’t even see me again.
— Oh, but we will. We don’t want you here. Responded the random dude.
Eva started to get up, but the random dude pushed her back in her seat. She tried to get up again, but this time, it was the redhead woman who moved. It was as if they had a hive mind. There was now a small crowd of about ten people surrounding her. Eva was trapped.
— Leave me alone! I haven’t done anything!
She knew what would come next. It happened before. And again before that. And again before that. Eva couldn’t help but let out a small gasp as the blonde woman shoved the blade in her backside. It was sharp, so it slid easily. Eva cried out in pain as the blonde woman gave a twist to the blade before taking it out. Such a little thing to cause so much damage… Then, darkness.